Mumbai is our next target after Bodh Gaya: 'IM'

A Twitter account purportedly belonging to terror outfit Indian Mujahideen (IM) has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s Bodh Gaya serial blasts and also warned that the next target would be Mumbai.

More than 12 hours after the early morning blasts, a tweet by @IndianMujahidin — which claims to be the IM’s official Twitter handle — said: “9 Dhamake Humne Karay (We carried out the nine blasts)”.

The tweet about Mumbai —dated July 6, a day before the Bihar blasts — reads: “Hamara Agla Target Mumbai Hai. Rock Sago Toh Rock Lo, 7 days Left (Our next target is Mumbai. Stop us if you can. Seven days left)”.

The National Investigation Agency and other security agencies are probing the authenticity of the account that, according to sources, originated in Canada. “We will definitely look into who is behind this Twitter account,” said a senior NIA official.

“Each and every terror threat in the country is thoroughly probed, though almost all of them turn out to be fake or a prank,” said a security official.

Meanwhile, the Patna police on Tuesday detained four people in the city on the basis of CCTV footage of the temple complex.

The suspects were identified as Anand Prakash, Gunjan Patel, Hassan Mallik and Priyanka — all in their 20s.

“The footage showed them moving suspiciously in the temple premises early Sunday. We are working on circumstantial evidence,” said a police officer.

A National Investigation Agency team scanned records of hotels close to the Mahabodhi Temple and zeroed in on the four. Sources said they checked out of Hotel Tathagat around 6am, minutes after the blasts.